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What TV are you watching and how would you rate it? [Revive from FRDB]

Hemlock Grove

... is leaving Netflix so I decided to give it a try. The first season was an adequate, moody horror and murder mystery. The ending is a bit lame, but at least has some shock value. But in second season they seem to drop most of the supernatural things that made the first season good, and it starts to resemble a vampire vs. werevolves dreck you'd be more likely to see on Syfy channel.

Didn't yet get to season 3, but usually when these series start to go downhill, they lose the budget and become even worse.
 
The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe, 9/10; Streaming on Brit Box, this four part series stars Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolin as husband and wife John and Anne Darwin in the true story of how John Darwin faked his own death and claimed his life insurance policy. It is an extraordinary story of how the Darwin's kept up the lie for about seven years before it all started to unravel.
 
Greg the Bunny. A sitcom from 20 years ago (has it been that long?) featuring Eugene Levy, Sarah Silverman, and Seth Green. Greg is a puppet who lands a job on a children's TV show directed by Levy and lorded over by Silverman's network executive, and the rest of the puppet cast is the stereotypical bunch of washed up Hollywood actors reduced to doing a kids show. Here's the network debut:

 
TSwizzle said:
The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe, 9/10; Streaming on Brit Box, this four part series stars Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolin as husband and wife John and Anne Darwin in the true story of how John Darwin faked his own death and claimed his life insurance policy. It is an extraordinary story of how the Darwin's kept up the lie for about seven years before it all started to unravel.
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Amigo, where in the hell do you find these obscure shows on these networks!!?? You are the king of finding shows on medias that I've never heard of!
 
The Firm, 7/10; Streaming on Kanopy this 1989 BBC production stars a young Gary Oldman as top boy Bexy in a football hooligan "firm" or gang (also known as football casuals). Bexy is at war with a rival gang and their leader Yeti while at the same time trying to recruit other firms into joining forces to go to Europe and take on some foreign football casuals. It's a bit dated and naff at times and doesn't really get to grips with what the football casual was about. There's some Clockwork Orange style ultra violence when firms collide.

Oasis: Supersonic, 9/10; Streaming on Kanopy, this 2016 fly on the wall documentary covers the meteoric rise of Manchester band Oasis. Using video footage from the early days of Liam and Noel Gallagher's childhood, early rehearsal and studio recording material, the documentary shows the band from their formation and early struggles to the peak of Oasis mania where Oasis was the biggest rock band in the world. It's a fantastic insight into Liam and Noel's volatile relationship and how Oasis went on to climb to the top of the music world. There is footage of a 1993 gig where record label owner Alan Magee was in attendance and decided to sign them to Creation Records. They were rough and I thought Liam couldn't carry a tune in a bucket but Magee saw something, signed them and they went from strength to strength.
 
TSwizzle said:
Oasis: Supersonic, 9/10; Streaming on Kanopy, this 2016 fly on the wall documentary covers the meteoric rise of Manchester band Oasis. Using video footage from the early days of Liam and Noel Gallagher's childhood, early rehearsal and studio recording material, the documentary shows the band from their formation and early struggles to the peak of Oasis mania where Oasis was the biggest rock band in the world. It's a fantastic insight into Liam and Noel's volatile relationship and how Oasis went on to climb to the top of the music world. There is footage of a 1993 gig where record label owner Alan Magee was in attendance and decided to sign them to Creation Records. They were rough and I thought Liam couldn't carry a tune in a bucket but Magee saw something, signed them and they went from strength to strength.
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Did it show them getting into fist fights on stage.
 
Manhunt: Unabomber
9/10

Dramatization of how Ted Kaczynsky (Paul Bettany) was caught, starring Sam Worthington. I usually don't like movies or tv "based on true stories", because true stories are fucking boring. Real world has inconsistent and meandering plots, stupid characters, and lackluster themes. So when Hollywood reproduces "true stories", they usually fail.

However, this miniseries was pretty entertaining. I don't know anything about the real Unabomber, so I was unencumbered by any knowledge of how much of the story was made up nonsense. I assume most of it. And I'm not going to bother checking from wikipedia "what really happened" because invariably, reality is disappointing. So, anyone who doesn't know or care about the real Ted Kaczynsky, I highly recommend this.

I guess it's a bit like Oliver Stone's JFK: Great movie, if you take it as 100% fiction.
 
Jayjay said:
Manhunt: Unabomber
9/10

Dramatization of how Ted Kaczynsky (Paul Bettany) was caught, starring Sam Worthington. I usually don't like movies or tv "based on true stories", because true stories are fucking boring.
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I just finished watching season one. It was ok, I'll give it a 6/10. I won't bother with season two.
 
TV and credit cards said:
The Handmaid's Tale
Season 5
9/10
Very good writing. A lot going on and all the segues worked. Nothing forced. The series is really holding up.
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I tried watching the first few episodes. I couldn't get into it. But I really watch very little episodic television.
 
1899
7/10

I read that it got cancelled today, which is a real shame. OTOH, the way they ended the first (and apparently only) season kind of suffices to make it a stand alone series, so I'd give it a recommend.

Doom Patrol (season 1)
7/10

I'd started watching this series when it first came out, but then tumultuous life bullshit happened and I forgot to go back to it. It's quirky, weird, funny, and intriguing. I'm only on episode 4 of the first season, but I'm really diggin' it.
 
1923

Apparently Yellowstone is a popular series, about a ranch next to Yellowstone national park. It actually has a number of spin offs. 1883 - which follows people heading out west, to eventually settle that area (well, those that survived the trip) , and now 1923.

My wife tried Yellowstone, but wasn't that interested. She liked 1883 better, but 1923 even has me watching. Ok, mostly because she is watching the series, but I think it is very good so far. This one has Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Timothy Dalton. Story so far is how poor growing season has made it harder for ranchers, increasing conflicts between the cattle ranchers and sheep herders. The sheep herders are refusing to respect property borders, grazing the sheep on Ford's lands. (big problem with sheep is they eat grass down to the root, leaving nothing to grow back) There have been a few violent confrontations, a few murders, and the situation is escalating. Last left off Ford's wife sent a letter to their nephew in Africa. He is a WWI veteran, there working as a hunter to protect people from wild animals, and dealing with his trauma from the war.
 
Oh, and a secondary plot in 1923 is of native american girls forced to attend a catholic school, where they are regularly beaten and abused for whatever minor reason. Don't know how they are going to tie into the rancher plotline, but certainly want to see that 'school' burned to the ground.
 
Jack Reacher, 6/10; Streaming on Amazon the series is nowhere near as good as the Tom Cruise movie version. The plot centers around corrupt police, politicians and south American gangsters running a counterfeit money operation. There's not a great deal of action sequences in this and when there is, meh. The writing is clumsy and lazy in order to set up scenes. For example, one of the characters for no good reason tries to sneak up on some bad guys sitting in a car. OK, confirmed bad guys, proceeds to back away, steps on a twig that makes a noise that alerts the bag guys and off we go. ffs, that has been done to death.
 
TSwizzle said:
Jack Reacher, 6/10; Streaming on Amazon the series is nowhere near as good as the Tom Cruise movie version. The plot centers around corrupt police, politicians and south American gangsters running a counterfeit money operation. There's not a great deal of action sequences in this and when there is, meh. The writing is clumsy and lazy in order to set up scenes. For example, one of the characters for no good reason tries to sneak up on some bad guys sitting in a car. OK, confirmed bad guys, proceeds to back away, steps on a twig that makes a noise that alerts the bag guys and off we go. ffs, that has been done to death.
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Amigo! I totally disagree! I think that that the TV show is much better. At least the TV Reacher is far more convincing as Reacher than Tom Cruise. Have you read the books? TV show much more closely follows the books. Looking forward to season 2. I'd rate the TV series as a 8 out of 10.
 
Harry Bosch said:
Amigo! I totally disagree! I think that that the TV show is much better. At least the TV Reacher is far more convincing as Reacher than Tom Cruise. Have you read the books? TV show much more closely follows the books. Looking forward to season 2. I'd rate the TV series as a 8 out of 10.
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I have not read any of the books. I hardly ever read unfortunately. I like both actors as Reacher and I’m not a fan of Cruise. I’ll give season two a watch when it comes on.
 
Comrades: you are cheating yourself if you are not watching "The Last of Us" on HBO. The first two episodes were a 10/10 for me. The acting, production, and story are superb.
 
Harry Bosch said:
Comrades: you are cheating yourself if you are not watching "The Last of Us" on HBO. The first two episodes were a 10/10 for me. The acting, production, and story are superb.
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Don't have HBO but the commercials look very interesting.
 
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